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Religion in Ruthenia
}}Religion in Ruthenia is dominated by the Ecumenical Patriarhate, which is part of the wider Orthodox Church. It represents the majority of the population and Orthodoxy is recognised as the "prevailing religion" of Ruthenia, The imperial family is considered the "defender of the orthodox church" and for now Ruthenia is the only country in White Giant who have a official state religion. Other major religions include Catholicism, Slavian Neopaganism, Judaism, Protestantism and Islam. According to a 3260 Ilstat Poll, 79% of Greek citizens believe that there is a God, whereas 16% believed in some sort of spirit or life force and 4% responded that they did not believe there is any sort of God, spirit or life force. Sociological Approaches The ethnic approach is primarily useful when applied towards ethnic religious communities that are small and/or compact enough to be "left out" of normal public opinion polls. It based on an assumption that 100% of population of every ethnic minority are adherents of their group's traditional religion. A good example of such a religious community is the Slavian paganism, represented in Ruthenia by ethnic Slavians. With the body of followers of less than 15,000, it wouldn't show up or would fall within the margin of error on any reasonable religious self-identification poll, and its size can only be reasonably inferred from census data using the ethnic approach. Orthodox Church The Orthodox Church, is accorded the status of "prevailing religion" in Ruthenia's constitution , and Ruthenia is the only country in the world where an Church is clearly recognized as a state religion. Since 3216, Orthodoxy within Ruthenia is handled by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Auronopolis. Its members comprise between 95% and 98% of the population, although recent surveys on the religiosity of Ruthene citizens seem to contradict these numbers. The status of the Orthodox church as the "prevailing religion" is largely based on the role the church played for the preservation of the Ruthene nation through the years of the Parsian Empire but also for the role the church played in the Enosis, also the imperial family is considered and crowned by the Ecumenical Patriarch and have the responsability of "defensor of the orthodoxy" As a result, many attribute to the modern Ruthene nation an ethnoreligious identity. The Orthodox Church is largely exempt from taxes, compared to other religious organizations. Furthermore, the mainstream Orthodox clergy's salaries and pensions are being paid for by the State at rates comparable to those of teachers. All Ruthene students in primary and secondary schools in Ruthenia attend Christian Orthodox instruction, although there is an exemption system for students who do not want to attend, as long as the exemption is requested by both parents. In addition, the Constitution prohibits proselytism from other religions, but places no such restrictions on the Orthodox Church. Catholic Church Indigenous Catholic Ruthene number approximately 50,000 and are found all over the peninsula and the Decadonnese archipielago, the majority however live in the Agionite Islands. The presence of Catholics in the Ruthene islands is mostly for the migrations foreign people from Great Palms and other western countries. The Roman Catholic community has increased in size in recent years due to immigration and today number over 200,000. Since in the planet there no formal authority of the roman church, the Patriarchate consider himself as "de facto" leader of the catholics. Protestantism Protestants, including the Ruthene Evangelical Church and Free Evangelical Churches, stand at about 30,000. The belief of the Ruthene Pentecostal Church is based upon the Bible. It is in agreement with the "Approved" Creed as determined by the two Ecumenical Church hi Councils. Previously the official church, Orthodox, and the State reluctantly gave permission for Pentecostal churches to operate legally. The process of receiving permission from the Ministry of Education and Religion to operate as a church is becoming easier. Assemblies of God, International Church of the Foursquare Gospel and other Pentecostal churches of the Ruthene Synod of Apostolic Church have 12,000 members. Independent Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost is the biggest Protestant denomination in Ruthenia with 120 churches. There are not official statistics about Free Apostolic Church of Pentecost, but the Orthodox Church estimates the followers in 20,000. Islam Indigenous Parsians and Muslims in Ruthenia are mostly of Turkish origin though a community of Ruthene Muslims exists as well. The number of followers of Islam is estimated to be at 97,604 people or 0.95% of the total population, according to the 3255 census. Immigrant Muslims are estimated between 200,000-300,000. Other Faiths or Dogmas Other minor faiths in Ruthenia include Jehovah's Witnesses (who number about 3,000), Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons and Slavian Neopaganism. Groups that constitute less than 1 percent of the population. See also * Ruthenian Empire * St. Stephanos Category:Religion Category:Ruthenia